Rochdale Observer

£150k will give people a say on new homes

- Flora.byatt@reachplc.com @florabyatt­MEN

ROCHDALE will be receiving a £150k cash boost which will allow communitie­s to have their say on where and what kind of new homes should be built.

The cash, from central government, will be given to councils in England to support new neighbourh­ood plans, which have been popular at the local level since it was introduced it in 2011, with nearly a million votes cast for neighbourh­ood plans and over 2,600 different communitie­s coming forward with proposals.

Neighbourh­ood plans are led by community volunteers and parish councils, covering individual neighbourh­oods and villages, and are supported by their local planning authority.

Communitie­s across the North West are set to benefit from up to 13,000 new, better-designed homes thanks to an £870,000 cast boost, Housing Minister Rt Hon Esther McVey MP announced on January 14.

Ms McVey said: “Communitie­s have the local insight to decide what new homes should look like and the kind of infrastruc­ture they need in their area.

“This is what neighbourh­ood planning is all about, so I’m pleased this funding for councils in the North West will ensure that the right homes are built in the right places.

“I am also announcing extra cash to deliver new vibrant garden communitie­s, which will help deliver tens of thousands of welldesign­ed new homes for hardworkin­g families.”

The £150,000 funding allocation builds on the government’s commitment to giving communitie­s a voice on the developmen­t in their areas, including prioritisi­ng local brownfield land while protecting the green belt.

A total of £6 million will be allocated nationally to help new locally-led garden towns and villages progress their plans to deliver up to 200,000 new homes.

The funding will support local authoritie­s to deliver neighbourh­ood plans by providing advice and expertise to communitie­s that want a neighbourh­ood plan, organising an independen­t examinatio­n of draft plans, hosting local referendum­s that give communitie­s a final say on these plans and supporting communitie­s who want to deliver new neighbourh­ood plans but have not been able to.

Four garden towns and villages already in the pipeline for the North West will also receive a share of £6 million to progress proposals, delivering up to 16,000 new homes.

The £720,000 million cash injection for these towns and villages will mean homes get built that otherwise would not.

This is because it will be used for preparing environmen­tal assessment­s and using the latest design techniques to develop areas people will be proud to be a part of.

 ??  ?? ●●Dippy will be arriving in Rochdale later this year as part of its nationwide tour
●●Dippy will be arriving in Rochdale later this year as part of its nationwide tour

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